Sounds to me like we are trying hard to sign players but getting nowhere. This could be due to:
a. Our lowly league position and no-one fancies the prospect of League 1 b. Our loanees have a reputation for being driven too hard and getting knackered c. Unacceptable financial demands are being made because of the new owners. d. Southall is conducting negotiations instead of Gallen e. None of the above.
What that doesn't take into account is player losses, and effectively we're down 2 players over the 1st January, Kayal and Gallagher
Gallagher was a massive loss, not planned for at all. Kayal wasn't a loss BUT when the squad was being planned in August Bowyer clearly thought he was needed, so that's another midfielder we're down. I don't know how close Field is to returning, but when Pratley gets his 10th booking and misses 2 games, I don't see much cover in the squad at the moment for him in the engine room.
I've been very supportive of the new owners and have said that we should judge them on transfers on Saturday 1st Feb. However I'm also getting a little concerned that it 'appears' no-one has been signed. The one thought I've had is, could it be we have signed a couple of players, they are training with the squad, but we haven't announced them so as to try and keep the potential new team away from Barnsley until the very last minute? Clutching at straws maybe, but I would like to think that Bowyer/Gallen and of course Southall have something organised to strengthen the squad!
Our interest in Maddison leaked (by the Peterborough chairman himself...) then days later Birmingham and Hull both showed interest. This turned Maddison's head and complicated the potential transfer. I doubt Bowyer/Gallen/Southall want a repeat of this so are probably keeping everything quiet - even for the more ITK journalists ie Cawley.
Let's see where we're at come Friday.
There is no proof his head was turned what so ever, reports say the exact opposite. Chairman on record saying he was excited meeting Bowyer, it comes down to the fact we weren't meeting his wage demands. Why do we keep blaming other players and clubs when all these signings have been in our hands
I don't doubt that Maddison was excited by meeting Bowyer, nor do I doubt that wage demands are an issue. But perhaps they became a bigger issue once Birmingham/Hull showed interest as this gave Maddison and his agent leverage to demand more, therefore complicating the transfer. By all accounts, the contract was fair. It's not as simple as 'okay mate sure, here's the extra £xxx per week you want because Birmingham have shown interest'.
Maddison can still be excited about meeting Bowyer, but also be keen to find out more about the opportunity at Birmingham/Hull and even using it in contract negotiations. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
I wonder with Maddison whether there is a bit of brinkmanship going on? Problem being if he goes elsewhere at the eleventh hour it may be too late to secure number 2 target. Total speculation on my part of course. Matt Southall is in a possibly unique position as a former agent and probably feels he has a winning hand in terms of getting deals done within the model budget and in fact may well see this window as essential for "making a statement". Good luck Matt, but please excuse me whilst I panic and bed wet
Our interest in Maddison leaked (by the Peterborough chairman himself...) then days later Birmingham and Hull both showed interest. This turned Maddison's head and complicated the potential transfer. I doubt Bowyer/Gallen/Southall want a repeat of this so are probably keeping everything quiet - even for the more ITK journalists ie Cawley.
Let's see where we're at come Friday.
This... best to keep our business quiet and that’s what they’re doing.
We know that fees and terms were higher for us because of people knowing where our investors are from, so rather than playing it out in public, it’s best to keep it under wraps.
They’re working hard and we just gotta wait that little bit more, signings will happen.
I believe we will sign 2-3 players before the deadline, but I don't understand why we are leaving it last minute as always. We have had 10 days off effectively between games, you would have thought it would be reasonable to get any new players before to train so they can be integrated with the team.
Now for example we could sign one player today, they have 3 days max training. Is it poor planning or are people being stubborn and its always a tricky window, I am an optimist but I would have thought we would have made a few signings earlier.
Has anyone been to the training ground to see any activity? Is there a chance we have made signings since the Fulham game but not yet announced to give Barnsley something to think about. I would expect to only hear through official channels close to Friday.
Sounds to me like we are trying hard to sign players but getting nowhere. This could be due to:
a. Our lowly league position and no-one fancies the prospect of League 1 b. Our loanees have a reputation for being driven too hard and getting knackered c. Unacceptable financial demands are being made because of the new owners. d. Southall is conducting negotiations instead of Gallen e. None of the above.
D
I also think this is playing a part, but big of a part is hard to say. Gallen has built up relationships over time and that’s important for negotiations. He’s still very much involved and apart of the whole thing, but he isn’t the sole man anymore. People will be feeling out Southall and testing the waters a bit more. That doesn’t mean that they won’t sign, just I hope Gallen is as involved as we all would like.
If Maddison doesnt sign for anyone else the longer it goes on Friday then I see Gallen having the following conversation with him
SG: Want to sign on those terms we offered you?
MM will then either say yes because we're the best Championship option in his eyes (In which case we get the player) or he'll say no, give me the extra 1k I asked for
If its the latter then its all depends if Gallen is prepared to then pay it - If all other avenues have been exhausted then I reckon we'll pay it, all depends on who is prepared to blink first
Of course should we get him we'll never know if we did just offer more or whether Maddison came to his senses (doubt it'll stop people moaning that we could have just paid him what he wanted making him available for Fulham)
On the other hand he may well feel he wants to be in a position where the transfer fee becomes his signing on fee in the summer (for whoever he joins) - If thats the case then I dont think it matters what anyone offers him!!
As far as I know, Maddison was not the player who asked for the extra £1,000 p/w.
They are not going to offer massive contracts to players in January as it will upset all the other players that are here at the moment. Better to wait until the summer to see what league we are in.
It's all conjecture. We don't really know who we are trying to sign, how many, how much we are offering.
There will be a lot of business done in the next few days. Bowyer and Gallen are fully aware we need some players and will be doing their best to get it done. Whether we get the quality or quantity required is another thing, but it's not a question that is going to be answered today.
Chill out and see where we are in 80 odd hours time.
Sounds to me like we are trying hard to sign players but getting nowhere. This could be due to:
a. Our lowly league position and no-one fancies the prospect of League 1 b. Our loanees have a reputation for being driven too hard and getting knackered c. Unacceptable financial demands are being made because of the new owners. d. Southall is conducting negotiations instead of Gallen e. None of the above.
C
Also this... but we have recently learnt that prices are coming down and will continue to do so as the window comes to a close.
Deadline day will be interesting, and given what's gone on so far probably the most likely time we'll see something happen. It's when deals get agreed all round in a chain, and it's when people blink. Could be someone like Maddison deciding to take the extra money on offer now rather than holding out for more, or us deciding sod it and chucking over the money we didn't want to at the last minute to avoid having nothing. At the moment we need to replace Gallagher and Kayal to be where we were at the start of the window. The downside there is we could do with an improvement at the back as we struggle defensively with everyone fit. We also then need to rely on players returning from injury being fit, and we've seen Taylor, Cullen, JFC, Kayal and Hemed all suffer setbacks this season when supposedly returning so that's a hell of a thing to bank on. I'd like to see two more midfielders, a defender and a striker to be comfortable, and then hopefully we'll have Field, Cullen, Williams, Taylor and Oztumer playing more regularly until the end of the season to see us through.
People need to stop comparing us to other championship sides, the lack of quality we have compared to the majority is ridiculous and a fair few of them have strong benches, not to mention most don't have the level of setbacks we have had. Quite literally incomparable. There is no way we should be using other championship clubs to justify our lack of activity. Are people forgetting that's what the old lot did before and we crucified them everytime. 'We tried getting ex player over the line but it didn't happen bla bla bla'
Why is that excuse valid now?
I’m sure the clubs below us are also desperate to add more quality, regardless of how bad their injury situation may have been. We’re not the only one.
Unless we’re willing to overpay or bring in average players we won’t get signings in quicker. Being more desperate doesn’t mean other clubs aren’t waiting for replacements, or waiting to make decisions on who to loan out.
I expected more in by now, but I expected most deals to go through towards the end of the window.
All I want in this window, isn't sign of intention from ESI etc, it is just a few players that will bring creativity to our game. We've struggled in this area and will continue to do so without CG/Leko and I remember Kayal did assist Bonne for a nice goal away.
If Maddison doesnt sign for anyone else the longer it goes on Friday then I see Gallen having the following conversation with him
SG: Want to sign on those terms we offered you?
MM will then either say yes because we're the best Championship option in his eyes (In which case we get the player) or he'll say no, give me the extra 1k I asked for
If its the latter then its all depends if Gallen is prepared to then pay it - If all other avenues have been exhausted then I reckon we'll pay it, all depends on who is prepared to blink first
Of course should we get him we'll never know if we did just offer more or whether Maddison came to his senses (doubt it'll stop people moaning that we could have just paid him what he wanted making him available for Fulham)
On the other hand he may well feel he wants to be in a position where the transfer fee becomes his signing on fee in the summer (for whoever he joins) - If thats the case then I dont think it matters what anyone offers him!!
As far as I know, Maddison was not the player who asked for the extra £1,000 p/w.
Out of interest who was it then? Clue on the level of player it was
What is the official CL 'allowed to panic' date if we haven't signed anyone? 30th?
Reckon about 10pm on Friday evening
Might have to be a bit earlier - Chris Parkes has to pick up Sue from the Sidcup Wetherspoons at half 9. She we be well mangled after being in there since 9am. Might take him a while to get her out the car and indoors.
If Maddison doesnt sign for anyone else the longer it goes on Friday then I see Gallen having the following conversation with him
SG: Want to sign on those terms we offered you?
MM will then either say yes because we're the best Championship option in his eyes (In which case we get the player) or he'll say no, give me the extra 1k I asked for
If its the latter then its all depends if Gallen is prepared to then pay it - If all other avenues have been exhausted then I reckon we'll pay it, all depends on who is prepared to blink first
Of course should we get him we'll never know if we did just offer more or whether Maddison came to his senses (doubt it'll stop people moaning that we could have just paid him what he wanted making him available for Fulham)
On the other hand he may well feel he wants to be in a position where the transfer fee becomes his signing on fee in the summer (for whoever he joins) - If thats the case then I dont think it matters what anyone offers him!!
As far as I know, Maddison was not the player who asked for the extra £1,000 p/w.
The time line didn't match and if it was only 1K in Maddison case, and with both Gallagher and Cullen having the potential recall in January, then it would've been weird and strange to turn down a player with a proven track record in League 1 who could turn into a decent championship player. Bowyer and Gallen wanted this too happen, If Gallen has said "this player isn't worth an extra 1k a week" (quote from Matt) maybe Ollie Clarke from Rovers was the recipient of this remark and not Maddison who people have questioned on his motivation but not on his football skill and his Championship class.
I don't want history to repeat itself and for the sake of a grand(don't compare this to ordinary jobs) we should be able to get players that can strengthen our team or else it all becomes pointless.
Ps. It must've been at least 2k for the deal to flounder in MM case.
Wouldn't be surprised to see a Maddison move on deadline day. Can't see him choosing not to play for 4 months and just run his contract down.
He'll be due a 7 figure signing bonus if he stays put and then agrees to a move in the summer. Not playing for the rest of the season might also be a positive as it makes picking up an injury less likely.
There will always be a flurry of activity right at the end - it's like a merry-go-round. Like a property "chain". One club sell a player which frees funds to buy a player and means the club they bought from has the cash to sign the player they have wanted and so on. The window in general has been quieter but there will still be a fair bit of action in the last couple of days.
I'm still hopeful on Maddison. Seems Pogba is likely. I expect a couple of others too. Sadly the last 5 or 6 years have probably not helped to whip up this frenzy of activity at transfer window time. It apparently cannot be avoided.
In honesty I would have hoped to sort something over the weekend ie a signing that would have a week of training with us before the weekend game but that doesn't seem tobe the case - as we have always done in the summer window it's a lastminute.com signing or two.
For now I will remain calm and hopeful we will get some good news in the next 36 hours to lighten spirits a bit
In other words Swis, you're very disappointed with the lack of activity by us so far :-)
Dunfermline are trying to keep hold of their striker Kevin Nisbet with interest from the championship and Italy. No clubs names but sounds like a Gallen type signing. Has 17 in 22 in the Scottish championship this season and had 29 in 34 last season in their 3rd tier.
I know this has been mentioned a few times but The Scottish Sun has reported that Greg Docherty looks like he'll be coming to us on loan after talks with Sunderland stalled. this was reported yesterday but I don't know if it's based on new information or just being rehashed from earlier in the window. Won lots of awards at Shrewsbury last season so he could be a good addition.
Sounds to me like we are trying hard to sign players but getting nowhere. This could be due to:
a. Our lowly league position and no-one fancies the prospect of League 1 b. Our loanees have a reputation for being driven too hard and getting knackered c. Unacceptable financial demands are being made because of the new owners. d. Southall is conducting negotiations instead of Gallen e. None of the above.
C
Also this... but we have recently learnt that prices are coming down and will continue to do so as the window comes to a close.
Well I wouldn't think prices would be coming down if two or more clubs are after the same player.
Sounds to me like we are trying hard to sign players but getting nowhere. This could be due to:
a. Our lowly league position and no-one fancies the prospect of League 1 b. Our loanees have a reputation for being driven too hard and getting knackered c. Unacceptable financial demands are being made because of the new owners. d. Southall is conducting negotiations instead of Gallen e. None of the above.
Mostly A with a bit of D thrown in. Players might sign for a struggling side if the wonga is right.. they certainly wont sign if they think they are getting a bum deal and could be in League 1 next season.
Loans only during this window I'm afraid.....and they will be late Friday (and then wont be able to play Saturday in any case)
Comments
Gallagher was a massive loss, not planned for at all. Kayal wasn't a loss BUT when the squad was being planned in August Bowyer clearly thought he was needed, so that's another midfielder we're down. I don't know how close Field is to returning, but when Pratley gets his 10th booking and misses 2 games, I don't see much cover in the squad at the moment for him in the engine room.
Maddison can still be excited about meeting Bowyer, but also be keen to find out more about the opportunity at Birmingham/Hull and even using it in contract negotiations. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
Problem being if he goes elsewhere at the eleventh hour it may be too late to secure number 2 target.
Total speculation on my part of course.
Matt Southall is in a possibly unique position as a former agent and probably feels he has a winning hand in terms of getting deals done within the model budget and in fact may well see this window as essential for "making a statement".
Good luck Matt, but please excuse me whilst I panic and bed wet
We know that fees and terms were higher for us because of people knowing where our investors are from, so rather than playing it out in public, it’s best to keep it under wraps.
They’re working hard and we just gotta wait that little bit more, signings will happen.
Loans and perms that are reasonable for now.
There will be a lot of business done in the next few days. Bowyer and Gallen are fully aware we need some players and will be doing their best to get it done. Whether we get the quality or quantity required is another thing, but it's not a question that is going to be answered today.
Chill out and see where we are in 80 odd hours time.
I expected more in by now, but I expected most deals to go through towards the end of the window.
I don't believe he won't play for the rest of the season if he doesn't go. Posh just want him to go now in order to get some money for him
Bowyer and Gallen wanted this too happen,
If Gallen has said "this player isn't worth an extra 1k a week" (quote from Matt) maybe Ollie Clarke from Rovers was the recipient of this remark and not Maddison who people have questioned on his motivation but not on his football skill and his Championship class.
I don't want history to repeat itself and for the sake of a grand(don't compare this to ordinary jobs) we should be able to get players that can strengthen our team or else it all becomes pointless.
Ps. It must've been at least 2k for the deal to flounder in MM case.
I know this has been mentioned a few times but The Scottish Sun has reported that Greg Docherty looks like he'll be coming to us on loan after talks with Sunderland stalled. this was reported yesterday but I don't know if it's based on new information or just being rehashed from earlier in the window. Won lots of awards at Shrewsbury last season so he could be a good addition.
Loans only during this window I'm afraid.....and they will be late Friday (and then wont be able to play Saturday in any case)